People should really stop equating the marketing moniker "Pro" with pro work. What is Pro anyway? Not everybody is into high end graphics or AI. I just got 5 people in my management team an MBA M1 16/512 and I know for a fact that plenty of professional musicians can cope just fine with the same config in a mac mini. GPU is not the only parameter turning a machine pro. In my case, it's more about the amount of storage (though 2TB would probably be enough - there's servers, too).
Tell me, if the Mini is a kiddie computer then why my Hex i7 Mini exists? Why does Apple support eGPUs on any Thunderbolt 3 Intel Mac or unofficially on TB 1/2? Why did Apple purposefully create this stack to illustrate it's heavy lifting abilities? Seems pretty "Pro" to me.
Lol, iMac? No thanks. I have two perfectly color calibrated monitors.
On the same token, why are there "Pro" contractors driving around in 2000s Tacomas instead F150 Raptors? Oh yeah, it gets the job done at a fraction the price.
Apple's "Pro" moniker is pure BS. You know it, we all know it but some want to believe that there is some magic that makes it better.
Thanks for the heads up on the PC, I already have a PC laptop.
Pro should mean computers that are with high spec for people who need extra power to get a job done that they make a living off. So if you are a writer, you probably can stick a keyboard to an iPhone and that will do the job just fine even though you write for a living. The moniker is not for you.
I am pretty sure people who use their computer power to get the job done, unlike Tacoma drivers, are not using Mac Minis. They need top specs to do 3D graphics, GBs of Photoshop images, compiling software, building games, running multiple VMs, ...etc . I doubt I will go into Pixar or Sony Music HQ and they are rocking Mac Minis all over the place.
Again, Mac Mini was created as an entry point for people who are not willing to pay the higher price for the iMac. Buying Mac Mini then adding an eGPU to it, yes maybe, but you are in a very small niche here.